Good morning and welcome to our Knaresborough Bed Race live blog. It’s Tom here who will be here all day. It’s the first race since 2019 and it’s fair to say there’s a buzz of excitement around.

The weather at the moment is overcast with a light breeze, perfect weather for lugging a heavy bed through town.

The actual race kicks off at 3pm but there’s a whole day of activities organised by Knaresborough Lions. I will be heading to Knaresborough Castle shortly for the judging of the best-dressed beds competition.

Amusements at Conyngham Hall open at 12pm and there’s the traditional parade of beds through the town from 1pm.

Teams have been slowly making their way up the high street all morning carrying their beds to the castle, conserving some energy for later you suspect.

17.00 – Presentation at Conyngham Hall

With all the festivities of the day, it’s easy to forget there was an actual competition taking place.

The presentation followed a very enthusiastic live band who performed hits from The Killers and Mumford and Sons, which had the crowd dancing like it was Glastonbury.

GH Brooks was the quickest team on the day, making their way around the course in a rapid 12.59.

The Welly Wheelers were the fastest women’s team at 15.14 and celebrated on stage to pick up their trophy.

GH Brooks, the fastest team

The Welly Wheelers, the fastest women’s team

That’s all for a very enjoyable Bed Race 2022. See you next year!

15.30 – Crowds line streets for the 2022 race

Thousands of people lined the streets to cheer on every team who competed in this year’s bed race. We got a good vantage point close to Henshaws to take in all the action.

One moment that summed up what bed race is all about was near the end when a woman was walking after being separated from her team. She looked in agony but the crowd roared and she picked up the pace to carry on running past the delighted spectators.

Watch the race below:

13.45 – Town is heaving

Whilst the bed race at 3pm is main attraction, today is usually the busiest day of the year for pubs and cafes in Knaresborough. We stopped for a quick pitstop in the Hart on Market Place, where it was lively.

The Hart pub

1.00pm – Bed parade through the town

All 85 beds took part in a glorious parade through the town that was led by bagpipes, The Rocketmen and a resplendent Knaresborough town crier Roger Hewitt.

The parade was a feast for the senses and it was hard to keep up with everything on show but there were bumblebees, men dressed as mermaids, rugby players and more. We’ll pretend those few raindrops we all felt didn’t happen.

Watch our video of the full parade below:

12.30pm – The Rocketmen are victorious!

A team of Knaresborough dads called The Rocketmen have picked up the top prize for their steampunk-inspired effort. Bravo.

The Wall-E bed that caught my eye going up the high street this morning came a commendable second.

The steampunks will take pride of place with their bed at the front of the parade, which starts shortly. The streets are already full with people hoping to get a good view for the afternoon.

11.30am – Best dressed beds competition

Judging is underway for the not-so-serious business of best dressed bed. There are over 80 teams and they’ve all got into the environment spirit.

Without wanting to pre-empt the judges decision, I really did like Techbuyer’s effort which involved decorating a bed and bicycle with used computer components. Although it did look very heavy, which could cost them in the time trial.

Top marks to Monkton Meanderers and Meadowside Academy, too.

Techbuyer

Meadowside Primary Academy with their ‘English Countryside’ theme

Monkton Meanderers with their bed that shows the recycling process.

10.30am – People and their beds make their way to Knaresborough Castle.

The theme this year is The Environment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. One woman was seen walking up the high street with an ingenious dress made out of crisp packets. Crisp chic!

Another team was pushing up their bed, which was the Pixar trash cleaning robot Wall-E.

The family of Harrogate singer songwriter Aaron Bertenshaw, who died in December, will be raising money for Diabetes UK at this weekend’s Knaresborough Bed Race.

Aaron, a former pupil at St Aidan’s Church of England High School, died aged 26 after struggling with diabetes and mental health issues.

Since his death, his mother Sammy Oates has been campaigning to plug the gap in services between people affected by the two conditions.

She is now lending her support to Diabetes UK’s new Diabetes is Serious campaign, which calls on the government to create a national recovery plan to support frontline healthcare teams getting diabetes services back on track after covid.

Ms Oates and Christine Holmes, a volunteer for Diabetes UK, will be part of a team operating a stand at Saturday’s bed race. The stand will provide information about diabetes and raise funds through a raffle and tombola. Tickets can be bought at the Worlds End and Castle Inn pubs in Knaresborough and The Blues Bar in Harrogate.

Supermarket Morrisons has agreed to match fund the sum raised.

(from left) Samantha Oates, Andrew Jones and Christine Holmes at the House of Commons.

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, who recently met Ms Oates and Ms Holmes at the House of Commons, is expected to draw the winning raffle ticket.

Read more:

• Funeral celebrates life of Harrogate musician Aaron Bertenshaw
• Knaresborough poised for first Bed Race in three years

Mr Jones said in a statement he “strongly supported” the Diabetes Is Serious campaign. He was one of 100 MPs who recently attended an event about it at the Commons. He added:

“Diabetes is a growing issue and has implications across other parts of healthcare including mental health as Samantha’s family story so powerfully shows.

“Samantha has taken an event that is very personal and painful and turned it into a campaign that is public and positive.

“It is impressive. I look forward to attending the Knaresborough Bed Race and supporting Samantha’s raffle raising money for Diabetes UK’s important work.”

Next week is Diabetes Week in the UK

A new Diabetes UK report revealed that 47% of people with diabetes in England experienced difficulties managing their condition in 2021. Sixty-three per cent attributed this in part to not having sufficient access to their healthcare team.

The charity, which organises Diabetes Week next week, said in a statement:

“Diabetes is serious and isn’t something you can ignore. If people do not receive the care they need, it can put them at risk of serious complications, which can lead to premature death.

“The coronavirus pandemic has created a backlog in the delivery of this routine yet vital care and, despite the tireless efforts of the NHS, many people living with diabetes are still struggling to access it.”

“We’re calling for an urgent recovery plan from the UK Government to tackle these devastating diabetes care delays before it’s too late. Urgent action is required now.”

Excitement is building for the first Knaresborough Bed Race since 2019.

The historic event on Saturday afternoon will see teams take part in a 2.4 mile course through the town in fancy dress, pushing a bed, before finishing with a wade through the River Nidd.

As many as 30,000 people line the streets for the event which is due to return on June 11. Since the first in 1966 the tradition has been picked up across the world with similar events being held in USA, Germany and New Zealand.

This year’s competitors have based their costume and bed design on the theme ‘The Environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. 

Nigel Perry, secretary at Knaresborough Lions, the volunteer group that organises the event, said he has enjoyed seeing teams practicing this week ahead of the big day.

He said:

“Taking part in the Bed Race takes fortitude. The streets of Knaresborough are full of teams practicing.

“The town will be packed on the day.”

Newly elected Liberal Democrat Knaresborough county councillor Matt Walker added:

“It’s great to see the beds back practicing the course through the town and the infamous water crossing . The crowds are in for a real treat as the beds are pushed through the town for the parade.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the teams have interpreted this year’s theme of recycle, reuse and reduce. It’s really opportunity to show off Knaresborough at its best to thousands of locals and visitors. Reminding people what make it a special place to live, work and visit.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough flower shop set to stay as new florist takes over
• Council rejects Knaresborough scuba diving facility plan

The Lions have organised park and ride facilities on Manse Lane (Knaresborough Technology Park) and Grimbalds Crag (ALM) on Bed Race day where a free Transdev bus service will take visitors to and from the town.

Knaresborough’s pubs, cafes and restaurants will also be looking forward to Saturday, which is traditionally their busiest day of the year for trade.

Mr Perry added:

“The Bed Race is good for them and good for the town.”

There has been a lot of rainfall this week but Mr Perry said the Nidd will be safe for competitors to wade through.

The race will start at 3pm from Conyngham Hall but a whole day of events are planned including a best-dressed bed competition and a parade through the town.

Click here to read the full programme.

We’ll be running a live blog on the day, would you like to send a good luck message to anyone competing? Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk and we will publish your message.

Knaresborough Bed Race is set to make its comeback next summer after organisers announced plans are in place for it to return.

The event has been cancelled for the past two years due to covid but is due to return on June 11, 2022.

Around 30,000 people line the streets of Knaresborough to watch the bed race, which sees teams complete a 2.4 mile course whilst pushing a bed.

People from across the town get involved by volunteering, dressing up or making one of the famous beds.

The themes for decorating the beds and runners’ costumes change each year. For 2022 it will be ‘The Environment: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’.

Kevin Lloyd, chairman of Knaresborough Lions’ organising committee, said:

“Teams can even reuse and recycle decorations from previous years. As ever, the accent is on fun for what is a tremendous family day which has caught the imaginations of people all over the world.

“We get plenty of interest and bed racing in Knaresborough has spawned similar events in many countries.

“We will ensure that it remains one of the finest, funniest and fiercest encounters of the annual sporting calendar in Yorkshire.”

The organising committee said it didn’t plan to change too much from the original 1966 format and hoped next year’s event would be memorable after covid led to its cancellation this year and last year.

The course runs through parkland, along Waterside through the Nidd Gorge, up Castle Ings, through the cobbled street of the town, down Bond End to High Bridge, through McIntosh Park, and finishes with a 35 yard swim through the cold River Nidd.

Read more:

• Harrogate Swedish-inspired cafe to expand into Knaresborough
• IMAGE GALLERY: Knaresborough Christmas lights switch on

In previous years, the fastest team has completed the course in under 14 minutes, the slowest around double that. There are prizes for fastest teams in different categories, for best dressed beds and for entertaining teams.

It costs about £30,000 for the event to be staged, which involves charges for road closures, crowd barriers and licenses. The costs are covered through sponsorship, advertising and income from spectators entering Conyngham Hall fields.

Any additional funds go to charities chosen by the Lions.

Entry forms will go live on the Bed Race website on January 1. Teams have to enter before the end of February. The race field is for 90 teams and their beds and if needed a public lottery will be held in March to decide the final race card.

A video was posted on the British Film Institute’s (BFI) Facebook page this week showing the Knaresborough Bed Race from 1977.

The Bed Race is a pageant of decorated beds, passengers and runners, combined with a 2.4-mile race through the town. Thousands of pounds are raised for charity every year and it’s been a fixture in the calendar of Knaresborians since 1966.

Watch the video below — do you recognise anybody?

The Bed Race was cancelled in 2020 and again in 2021 due to the covid pandemic.

The video is owned by charity the Yorkshire Film Archive. Its website hosts several other videos from the past from around the Harrogate district.

Read more:

• Knaresborough Bed Race: A look back at the first event in 1966
• Knaresborough Bed Race 2021 cancelled

This weekend was supposed to see one of the biggest events of the Harrogate district calendar — the Knaresborough bed race.

Sadly, covid forced the event’s cancellation for the second year running.

So here’s a look back at how it all started in 1966, courtesy of some photos by Knaresborough amateur photographer, the late Bill Hardacre, whose son Roy sent them.

The puppeteer Harry Corbett, who created children’s TV character Sooty, fired the gun to start the race.

Acker Bilk, the jazz musician, started the 1967 race. Does anyone know how they were tempted to Knaresborough?

Do you recognise any of the people seen in the photos, or have favourite memories of the madcap event that grew so big?

Read more:

• Council reveals Knaresborough Pool £27,000 repair costs
• Whixley plant nursery celebrates 100 years of business

The Great Knaresborough Bed Race will go ahead this year in a virtual format after coronavirus forced organisers to cancel the spectacle.

Details are sparse at the moment but the ‘Bed Race 2020 Unplugged’ will take place on Saturday, June 13, 2020.

Over the coming weeks, the Knaresborough Lions Club will try to keep spirits high by getting the community involved in the bed race at a safe distance.

First up, the organisers have asked people to draw, paint, and make collages of beds to put up in their windows and send them into their Facebook page.

Amanda George, for the Knaresborough Lions, said today:

“We must not gather on the streets, so there will be nothing to go and see outside on the day – but people will be able to enjoy a virtual Bed Race experience from their homes. As ever, it will combine community spirit, joyful pageantry, gritty athleticism and downright quirkiness.”